DECEMBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 31
PRESS BUSINESS
DREAM CAR RESTORATIONS
CORVETTES FOR CHARITY
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Dream Car Restorations NY in Hicksville
has restored more than its share
of Corvettes, but the company these
days is in the middle of what is likely
the biggest such restoration in history
— 36 classic Corvettes, one each
year starting with 1953, when the car
was introduced, to 1989.
They’ll be raffled off to 36 winners to
raise money for the National Guard
Educational Foundation, providing
scholarships to military families, in
a kind of “Vettes for vets” arrangement.
Tickets are $3 donations to that
charity with deals for multiple tickets
at corvetteheroes.com. The project
is the focus of The Lost Corvettes, a
reality show on the History Channel.
“It was unbelievable,” says Chris
Mazzilli, who owns Dream Car Restorations.
“These cars sat for 25 plus
years caked in dust. It’s really the
greatest Corvette barn find in history.”
The cars are in a garage on Manhattan’s
Lower East Side.
VH1 in 1989 assembled
this collection
of 36 Corvettes and
raffled them off. Two million
tickets later, a carpenter from
Long Island won. Artist Peter Max
bought the collection to use the cars
as a canvas for his art.
But the collection gathered dust, so
Max sold them to Scott Heller and his
sons Michael and Adam Heller and
cousin Peter Heller, as well as real
estate associates Gary, Adam and
Fred Spindler.
The newgroup turned to Mazzilli, a
known Corvette expert, for advice
and restoration. Jim Cahill, who
came up with the idea for the for
original sweepstakes for VH1 in 1989,
suggested a sweepstakes for charity
this time as well. Mazzilli, who also
owns Gotham Comedy Club and produces
TV comedy specials and series,
came up with the idea for a reality
show.
“Nothing like this has been done
before,” Michael Heller says.
What’s life like for these Long
Islanders-turned-reality-TV stars?
“I’m pretending the cameras
aren’t there,” Mazzilli says.
“It’s fun. I’m more
about getting the
word out about the
hobby, the charity,
and sweepstakes.”
Michael Heller sees the
show as spinning wheels of fortune
to benefit military families.
“It’s American history,” he says,
noting that restoring the cars is also
a major part of the mission. “We’re
lovers of Corvettes.”
To sign up for the sweepstakes, you
must be 18 or older; and visit corvetteheroes.
com, facebook.com/corvetteheroes/
or @CorvetteHeroes on
Instagram and Twitter by April 30,
2020. Drawings will be held in May.
Chris Mazilli
with one of the
classic Corvettes
being
restored.
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